What is the latest tools/equipment that has become a staple in your shop?

[Mike Allen1010]

I'm a creature of habit's contents to do things the same way most of the time. However recently, I've added a couple things to the shop that have proven super valuable:

1) cordless leaf blower. When I'm tired at the end of the day much better than plugging in the shop vac and dragging the extension cord around the blowout shavings and sawdust. I like it!

2) Superglue in all forms: I love the liquid for repairing small cracks/splits in delicate edges, particularly essential when carving. Also when I'm too impatient to wait for glue to dry when I need small nonweight bearing components like small interior cabinet shelves I've used superglue for edge gluing with a little bit of Titebond for insurance. 10 minutes between clamps and it's ready to be surfaced. Can't say hundred percent confident but definitely save time.

3) slow speed grinder with cloth wheel. I got this originally to try out the "unicorn" sharpening technique. I'm a huge believer in the power of sharp and willing to invest time and effort to get the best edge I possibly can- full stop. Usually I rely on water stones. However, I particularly like the unicorn method for paring chisels (about a 20° primary bevel grind, honing a wire edge at about 25° on a course stone and remove the burner on buffing wheel with green compound). I also find it use the buffing wheel for touching up carving gouges in small bench chisels with good results.

What about you? Thanks for sharing.

Best, Mike

[Scott Winners]

I am ecstatic with my new block plane. I seem to have been doing it wrong all along. In my geographic isolation I learned to make a knife mark, chisel out some room for the saw, cut as close to the line as possible (without going over, sort of like one of the game shows on TV), and then plane the last of the end grain down to the knife line.

I guess this is much easier with a shooting board and a shooting plane, especially for long stock. I am laughing at myself. Doing this as pictured is a bit of a learning curve but it isn't that hard. With short stock. I have just learned about this use of a shooting board in the last 36 hours or so, never mind what I though they were for.

508216

[Jim Koepke]

What is the latest tools/equipment that has become a staple in your shop?

Of recent purchase would be a Bevel Monkey.

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It is in the upper left hand corner. Very handy for setting a bevel gauge.

The other is getting close to a year old.

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A shop made 2" square is handy. I am thinking about adding finger groves.

Others that get used a lot are my various dividers. (no picture)

jtk

[Jim R Edwards]

Makita 18 volt light. I got it for Christmas and I use it all the time. My eyes aren’t what they use to be and it helps immensely

[roger wiegand]

Grammercy Tools shellac brush. Who knew that a brush could make such a difference!

[Jimmy Harris]

Everything! I don't have the room to store stuff I don't use, so I tend not to buy tools until I've been needing them for a while.

My last purchase was a Veritas flush cut saw. I bought it for flush cuts. But I find it's useful for all kinds of odd situations where a small, flexible saw can get into places that a larger saw can't.

[Mark Rainey]

Mike, I also have been using cyanoacrylate glue more frequently - very convenient. Starbond from California caters to woodworker.

[George Yetka]

Recently started my kitchen cabinets so I loaded up
Bora centipede(using the tracksaw makes breaking down ply so much easier)
Bought Bora table tops for the centipede (didnt like them)
MFT - I like the height, the small footprint, and the multiple uses (loaded up on clamping for this as well)
TSO track square and parallel guides
Kreg foreman(huge timesaver over the k5)
Clamping squares(knockoff set of the aluminum Woodpecker but work well)
Upgraded to bessey 600 lb quick clamps from dewalt 300 lb
Got a grabo(saves the back and fingers lifting panels)
Upgraded to Festool CXS12, though its only a slight improvement over the 10.8

[Reed Gray]

Well, everything I get.... Got a couple of Japanese style planes, and am learning to fit the blades into the bodies. A 1000/300 grit diamond plate from Rob Cosman since the Trend ones seem to be junk now. Got a big stash of wood recently from a man who was 2 time president of the international wood collector's society, many I have never heard of. I have a dedicated platform for my slow speed grinder which is set to 25 degrees f9r reshaping old plane blades and getting the primary bevel formed. I did watch one video on You Tube from a master Japanese style plane user who commented that one feature of planed surfaces was it made the surface 'water proof'. He put a drop of water on either side of a line, half was planed, half was sanded. The sanded side drop spread out and had a big wet spot all around it. The planed side, the drop just sat there. Much to my dismay, he also commented that it takes about 5 years to learn how to use a plane..... 4 years left... Thinking about making a Japanese style plane out of Ipe...

robo hippy

[Jimmy Harris]

Well, everything I get.... Got a couple of Japanese style planes, and am learning to fit the blades into the bodies. A 1000/300 grit diamond plate from Rob Cosman since the Trend ones seem to be junk now. Got a big stash of wood recently from a man who was 2 time president of the international wood collector's society, many I have never heard of. I have a dedicated platform for my slow speed grinder which is set to 25 degrees f9r reshaping old plane blades and getting the primary bevel formed. I did watch one video on You Tube from a master Japanese style plane user who commented that one feature of planed surfaces was it made the surface 'water proof'. He put a drop of water on either side of a line, half was planed, half was sanded. The sanded side drop spread out and had a big wet spot all around it. The planed side, the drop just sat there. Much to my dismay, he also commented that it takes about 5 years to learn how to use a plane..... 4 years left... Thinking about making a Japanese style plane out of Ipe...

robo hippy

Yeah, I've definitely noticed that stain sometimes absorbs differently into planed wood than sanded wood. A plane slices through the fibers without opening them up. Whereas sandpaper grinds wood down, and in the process, opens up the fibers. Even fine grit, though less so.

[Rafael Herrera]

I did watch one video on You Tube from a master Japanese style plane user who commented that one feature of planed surfaces was it made the surface 'water proof'. He put a drop of water on either side of a line, half was planed, half was sanded. The sanded side drop spread out and had a big wet spot all around it. The planed side, the drop just sat there. Much to my dismay, he also commented that it takes about 5 years to learn how to use a plane..... 4 years left...

It does not take that long. That type of planed surface is called "bright". A sharp plane iron and a properly fitted cap iron are the skills you need to produce a surface so smooth that you can see a reflection on it.

I've a couple of pictures that demonstrate the effect. The piece is a block of oak I used to test a smoother. The second picture is the same block, the picture was taken sighting down the planed surface, you can see the reflection of the tools on the peg board.

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The same effect can be achieved with other wood species: maple, pine, etc. Setup the smoother to take fine shavings and set the cap iron close to the edge.

A bright surface can be finished as is, no sanding needed. It will take a stain with possibly less blotching than a sanded surface, but YMMV and you may still need a sealer.

Drop some water on a bright surface and it will bead, it's not waterproof though, it'll just take longer to diffuse into the wood.

This not magic, nor does it take consulting a guru to learn how to do it, just what I mentioned above.

Rafael

[Richard Coers]

I'm a creature of habit's contents to do things the same way most of the time. However recently, I've added a couple things to the shop that have proven super valuable:

1) cordless leaf blower. When I'm tired at the end of the day much better than plugging in the shop vac and dragging the extension cord around the blowout shavings and sawdust. I like it!

2) Superglue in all forms: I love the liquid for repairing small cracks/splits in delicate edges, particularly essential when carving. Also when I'm too impatient to wait for glue to dry when I need small nonweight bearing components like small interior cabinet shelves I've used superglue for edge gluing with a little bit of Titebond for insurance. 10 minutes between clamps and it's ready to be surfaced. Can't say hundred percent confident but definitely save time.

3) slow speed grinder with cloth wheel. I got this originally to try out the "unicorn" sharpening technique. I'm a huge believer in the power of sharp and willing to invest time and effort to get the best edge I possibly can- full stop. Usually I rely on water stones. However, I particularly like the unicorn method for paring chisels (about a 20° primary bevel grind, honing a wire edge at about 25° on a course stone and remove the burner on buffing wheel with green compound). I also find it use the buffing wheel for touching up carving gouges in small bench chisels with good results.

What about you? Thanks for sharing.

Best, Mike
Did you realize your post is on Neanderthal Haven? Odd choices of cordless leaf blower and slow speed grinder for a hand tool sub.

[David Carroll]

Wood is Good urethane carving mallet. Over the years, I've had several different carvers mallets. Chris Schwarz has recently been touting his "Lump Hammer." I used something like that for years, it was (still is) a Sculpture House branded stone carving mallet. It's a full pound and made of malleable iron. It was fine, but I miss-placed it and needed one for a class I was taking at the local Woodcraft, so I grabbed the urethane clad mallet and fell in love with it instantly. For awhile I had a Lignon Vitae one, but you had to keep it waxed, and in a plastic bag to avoid checking, it was a nuisance.

But this one is great! I even use it for dovetailing and chopping mortises. I thought having a cylindrical mallet after using a rectangular one would take some getting used to. It did. It took nearly a minute before I was really comfortable with it. Sometimes I miss the mass of the iron hammer, but I still have it for those times.

DC

[Edward Weber]

Yeah, I've definitely noticed that stain sometimes absorbs differently into planed wood than sanded wood. A plane slices through the fibers without opening them up. Whereas sandpaper grinds wood down, and in the process, opens up the fibers. Even fine grit, though less so.

This is simply not what happens at all, once the fibers are cut, they're cut. There is no slicing vs opening them up
You do not make wood waterproof by planing, this is a parlor trick. As Rafeal said, it just takes a little longer to absorb into the wood.
If you sand up to the burnishing point, you will get the same effect as planing

Planing cuts the fibers cleanly rather than abrades them, leaving a smooth initial surface on the cut. A roughly sanded surface up to 220, will will absorb liquid more readily due to the scratches left by the abrasive. If you continue sanding up to a high grit, diminishing the scratches, you will get the same surface smoothness and chatoyance as planing. It's just two different ways of removing waste and getting to the same point.

[Todd Sebek]

1. Boggs curved bottom spokeshave, paired with a sharp card scraper is a lot of fun.
2. Blackwing 651 pencil with a Blackwing dual stage sharpener or a KUM dual stage sharpener. I think I like the KUM more. Probably my most used tool in the shop. I just enjoy using it with the Blackwing pencil.

[Kevin Jenness]

1. Boggs curved bottom spokeshave, paired with a sharp card scraper is a lot of fun.
2. Blackwing 651 pencil with a Blackwing dual stage sharpener or a KUM dual stage sharpener. I think I like the KUM more. Probably my most used tool in the shop. I just enjoy using it with the Blackwing pencil.

"If you want to sharpen a pencil you can collect everything you need for under $1,000... so there's no reason to be intimidated by sharpening a pencil." https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=artisanal+pencil+sharpener&mid=5E29C3CAA796A667B1425E29C3CAA796A667B142

My Crazy Horse dolly has become a nearly indispensable tool in my shop. I can easily transport a full pallet of Blackwing pencils from the loading dock to the sharpening station.

[Jim Koepke]

It does not take that long. That type of planed surface is called "bright". A sharp plane iron and a properly fitted cap iron are the skills you need to produce a surface so smooth that you can see a reflection on it.

The hard part of such surfaces is taking a decent picture of them. Here are a couple of mine.

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This was a piece of fir about 14" long, reflecting the dots on the piece of paper.

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This is a plank of Douglas fir from my neighbor. He cut down the tree and then made some planks with a chain saw mill.

It is a little difficult to see the reflection from around the window at the end near the door.

Someone mentioned a mallet. This is the last one I made.

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It has become my favorite.

jtk

[George Yetka]

1. Boggs curved bottom spokeshave, paired with a sharp card scraper is a lot of fun.
2. Blackwing 651 pencil with a Blackwing dual stage sharpener or a KUM dual stage sharpener. I think I like the KUM more. Probably my most used tool in the shop. I just enjoy using it with the Blackwing pencil.

I am pretty loaded up on blackwings I only use the 2 step sharpener at the plan table though. I have a double burr (schoolhouse crank) in the garage. Its 90% as good and its screwed to the wall so I usually know where it is.

[George Yetka]

"If you want to sharpen a pencil you can collect everything you need for under $1,000... so there's no reason to be intimidated by sharpening a pencil." https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=artisanal+pencil+sharpener&mid=5E29C3CAA796A667B1425E29C3CAA796A667B142

My Crazy Horse dolly has become a nearly indispensable tool in my shop. I can easily transport a full pallet of Blackwing pencils from the loading dock to the sharpening station.


I showed that video to everyone years ago and no one thought it was as funny as I did.

[Tom M King]

The Blackwing pencils are better than the average run of the mill pencils, but they are no match for the old Eagle Mikado/Mirago pencils. They changed the name from Mikado, which is Japanese for Emperor, to Mirado after Pearl Harbor was attacked. I never saw a Blackwing in no. 3's or 4's like the Mirado's come in. I used to be able to buy them in family owned Office Supply stores, but after Eagle changed hands a couple of times, the quality went away after the Berol name was on them.

I panicked a bit when those family owned small stores went out of business, but after the internet and ebay came online, I have accumulated more than several llifetime supplies. I mainly use no. 3's and 4's, but my Mom liked no. 1's for doing crossword puzzles in newspapers.

They sharpen to as fine a point possible in Berol crank pencil shapeners. I have them in a number of places, and thanks to ebay even have several replacement cutter inserts.

You do have to learn to not push down on them after using other pencils for so long, but even a sharp no.4 will leave a tiny fine line for a LONG time on one sharpening.

I have decades old printed ads for them. I've tried the Blackwings, but was unimpressed.
https://www.pencils.sundrymemes.com/images/eagle_mikado_35_miles_for_a_nickel.jpg

[mike stenson]

I picked up an industrial tape dispenser (one of the old 3m ones) from back when they were made out of solid iron, for cheap. I need more.

[Jim Koepke]

I picked up an industrial tape dispenser (one of the old 3m ones) from back when they were made out of solid iron, for cheap. I need more.

Over 30 years ago I purchased 2 rolls of packing tape. Someone told me they were "mother rolls," the ones from which the smaller retail size rolls are made. They were about 14" across and the surplus dealer sold them to me for $2 apiece. I sold one to a coworker for cost when we needed packing tape for shipping a lot of parts and equipment back to vendors. My roll is getting down to a few years worth at my current rate of use.

Wish another surplus dealer with such deals could be found.

jtk

[Mike Allen1010]

Mike, I also have been using cyanoacrylate glue more frequently - very convenient. Starbond from California caters to woodworker.

Thanks for the tip - I’ll check them out

[Mike Allen1010]

Did you realize your post is on Neanderthal Haven? Odd choices of cordless leaf blower and slow speed grinder for a hand tool sub.

Leaf blower=plane shavings and saw dust clean up.

Slow speed grinder=sharp paring chisels.

I’m sure others will share cool hand tools, which was kinda the point. I rest my case.

[Stew Denton]

I have been working on getting my shop built, but it has been hard to find folks to build it. I had wanted to build it myself, but my wife has convinced me to have it built. Because of the size of the job, it is really too big of a job for me to do alone, although I may do some of it. Also I am going to tear down a rickety shed and use the good trusses to build a new one, so will have to be satisfied with building that, it will be 12' by 16'.

As of right now my very simple old school drafting stuff is used more than ever.

I have had to make mechanical drawings to show the dirt guys, concrete, electrical, plumbers, framers, etc., what I want. Thus I have been using my old drafting stuff a lot, far more than in the past. I have had most of the stuff for years but use it more now than ever for all kinds of projects. The stuff I use is very old school, at couple of T-squares, a couple of drafting triangles, a drafting triangular ruler, a compass, and a pentel mechanical pencil. I have gotten to the place that they are almost vital. When I finally get the shop done and work in it I will probably make mechanical drawing for a lot of my projects, more so than I ever did in the past, as I usually design my own projects rather than build things from plans from woodworking magazines, etc.

I draw on a piece of lumber core plywood for a drawing board, carefully squared up sanded and finished, as my old school school (1940s or 1950s?) drafting board is too hard for me to get too until everything can be unpacked and put in the shop.

The tools I have used more than I ever have before, those for actual woodworking, are my biscuit jointer and 3-way C-clamps, which I used building the shelves for my wife's kitchen pantry. I have had them for years but did not use them a lot until now. (I know, a biscuit jointer isn't Neander, but I am a hybrid woodworker.) I cut the shelves from a very good grade of fir plywood with a handsaw, smoothed the cut edge with a Stanley #4, cut the edging from 1X8s to cover the end grain, used the biscuit jointer and 3-way C-clamps to glue up the edging, and finally planed the edging down to the width of the plywood with some sandpaper touch-ups.

Thus for me the tools are: my old school drafting stuff, my biscuit jointer, and my 3-way C-clamps.

By the way, my vintage Pony 3-way C-clamps are wildly better and stronger than the new Pony 3-way C-clamps I had to buy. I am going to give away my new 3-way clamps to my family members that will not use them for heavy duty work, and try to buy some more vintage ones off that auction site to replace the 4 I give away.

Regards,

Stew

[Rob Lee]

Everything! I don't have the room to store stuff I don't use, so I tend not to buy tools until I've been needing them for a while.

My last purchase was a Veritas flush cut saw. I bought it for flush cuts. But I find it's useful for all kinds of odd situations where a small, flexible saw can get into places that a larger saw can't.

That's my favorite saw for trimming shims when installing door or window frames.....!

Cheers -

Rob

[kenneth hatch]

Did you realize your post is on Neanderthal Haven? Odd choices of cordless leaf blower and slow speed grinder for a hand tool sub.

Odd framing, leaf blowers don't build a lot of furniture but are handy for cleanup. Last I looked slow speed grinders were used in both hand tool shops and machine/jig shops. The question is where is the line? Anything that uses power other than human muscle? or just say forget it and work to build furniture as nice as Mike's using what is at hand.

Grumpy old guy just back from four months in a motorhome to a shop full of rat droppings, ken

[mike stenson]

Odd framing, leaf blowers don't build a lot of furniture but are handy for cleanup. Last I looked slow speed grinders were used in both hand tool shops and machine/jig shops. The question is where is the line? Anything that uses power other than human muscle? or just say forget it and work to build furniture as nice as Mike's using what is at hand.

Grumpy old guy just back from four months in a motorhome to a shop full of rat droppings, ken


I know the feeling Ken. Welcome back to the pueblo.

[Stew Denton]

Ken,

One more welcome back! I think leaf blowers, and shop vacs (that's what I use) probably will work to blow rat droppings out of the shop too.

Stew

[Cameron Wood]

Makita wheel sander. Also HF "Surface conditioner"- similar machine.

They both are excellent for cleaning up salvaged and rough sawn lumber, both prior to machining to remove grit, etc, and for live edge and sawn texture.

The Makita is expensive, but I got one in a big batch of stuff for $100. Would still balk at the $5-600 price but I use it a lot.

The HF has variable speed and works well at slow rpms, does curves and irregular shapes, and metal with a different wheel.


Not new, but the Makita V.S. 120v blower is an essential tool that I have used for years. Would not be without it (them).

[Derek Cohen]

I haven’t had many new tools of late, but one that is now a go-to is the Accu-Burr Carbide Burnisher. Of course, I have already modified it (one which FWW have also recommended).

Link to my review: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/Accu-BurrCarbideBurnisher.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Zor]

I haven’t had many new tools of late, but one that is now a go-to is the Accu-Burr Carbide Burnisher. Of course, I have already modified it (one which FWW have also recommended).

Link to my review: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/Accu-BurrCarbideBurnisher.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

Nice write up Derek. Where did you source the ferrules for your turned wooden handles? Or did you turn them down from round stock?

[Derek Cohen]

Hi David

The ferrules are shef support bushes ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/A%20Knife%20for%20Marking%20Dovetails_html_c6f4ed7 .jpg

I began using these many years ago when making marking knives ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/A%20Knife%20for%20Marking%20Dovetails.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Zor]

Derek,

BRILLIANT!

Thank you for sharing.

And so as not to completely derail this thread....

...My favorite new tools are a Veritas Medium Router plane (just the right size) and I finally bought a few sizes of Lie Nielsen chisels while at Handworks in Iowa (a noticeable and welcome improvement).

[Jim Koepke]

Nice write up Derek. Where did you source the ferrules for your turned wooden handles? Or did you turn them down from round stock?

Another source for ferrules is copper pipe solder on caps. I've also used compression sleeves from tubing fittings.

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These ferrules are 1/2" copper pipe caps. They are also available for 1/4" and 3/8" pipe.

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This is a marking knife made from a saw blade. The ferrule is a compression ring from a 1/4" tubing connector.

jtk